Never Too Early To Start Thinking About Your Summer Swim!

It may be just getting into winter but many of us are already counting the days until the pool can be reopened! Ryan with R&R Pools in Timberlea, Nova Scotia knows all the tips and tricks for ensuring an efficient and trouble-free opening of your pool this spring. Here are five basic but essential steps to get your pool ready for that first cannon-ball of the season.

• Remove, clean and store your pool cover. Your pool cover has been working hard all winter to keep out debris, minimize evaporation and prevent damage. Treat it right by giving it a thorough cleaning, a good air drying and tucking it away in a safe, dry storage location for the swimming season. If bacteria or mold are allowed to form on the cover, that will cause trouble every time it comes in contact with the water. The better care and maintenance you provide for your pool cover this spring, the better equipped it will be to protect your pool next winter.

• Restore pool water and equipment to their proper seasonal place. Winter plugs (or freeze plugs) are to be removed and stored. The water level after the winter won’t be high enough for swimming so make sure to refill the water in the pool to the appropriate depth before the next step.

• Turn the pool on. Now we’re getting there! Start the pool up to begin water circulation and filtration. You’ll need good water flow to properly disperse the required chemicals and give the equipment a chance to process the water that has sat for over the winter months.

• Clean pool and run filtration system. Now is the time for the pool to be vacuumed and brushed. You want the pool to be squeaky clean for its first visitors. Pay special attention to ladders, stairs or any corners and crevasses where contaminants may be hiding. Once cleaned, run your filtration system over night to thoroughly filter out any debris that was churned up by your cleaning.

• Test pool chemistry and make needed adjustments. Test the chemical balance of the water once the pump had a chance to get all the water moving (we recommend waiting a good 24 – 48 hours before testing the balancers).  Add the required chemicals to the pool. Chemical treatment is so very important! The water must be balanced for sanitizers to work effectively and to remove unwanted waste and contaminants. The experts at R&R Pools with their BioGuard water treatment system will happily help you through this process or even take care of it for you.

Before you know it, your pool will be ready for the first swim of the season. Here’s hoping that thoughts of a relaxing swim on a warm and sunny summer day will help us get through the winter!